A father in California was sentenced to 212 years in prison for killing his two autistic sons and the attempted murder of his then-wife in a bid to collect millions in life insurance money.
According to the New York Post, Ali Elmezayen thought the best way to solve his extreme financial problems was to drive the family car off a pier after taking out close to $3 million in life and accidental death insurance for his entire family from eight different insurance companies in less than a year.
Elmezayen called the insurance companies regularly to make sure all the policies were up to date and to inquire about the investigation process- should something happen to his wife and kids.
Then in April of 2015, Elmezayen purposefully drove his car off the San Pedro pier in Los Angeles, with both sons and his ex-wife inside.
Elmezayen managed to escape, and to his surprise, his now ex-wife was also saved by a passing fisherman. But both of their sons, who were strapped into their seats, perished.
After their deaths, Elmezayen collected $260,000 of the insurance money he took out for his sons to buy a boat and property in his native country of Egypt.
Along with the murder charges, he was also found guilty on four counts of mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and five counts of money laundering.
US District Judge John F. Walter, who presided over the case, called Elmezayen “the ultimate phony and a skillful liar” and “nothing more than a greedy and brutal killer.”
